Diamonds Are Not This Girl's Best Friend

Okay, I'm probably in the minority here, but diamonds do not turn me on at all. Really, expensive jewelry in general has no appeal to me. Sure diamonds are shiny and sparkly, but I just do not believe in their value. Who decided that the diamond is the most valuable stone?

I understand they are rare, difficult to find and take a master craftsman to turn into a tiny little jewels to bedazzle my finger or ears.  Still, I can't distinguish a real diamond from a fake so it would basically be wasted on me.

I have only every owned one diamond.

Back in the day, before we graduated from college Bryon and I got engaged. One night he came to the mall where I was working in the juniors department of Famous Barr and during my break, he gave me the choice between a nice leather jacket from the mall or a diamond ring. I'll admit it, I was young and didn't yet know of my disregard for diamonds. I chose the diamond. I knew that when I wore it everyone would know I was engaged.

In that case, the symbolism was worth more than the $125 it cost. That $125 was a lot of money for a college student with a part time job. I wore it proudly.

We waited until we graduated from college and then got married in 1990. Our entire wedding cost $500 and included my $80 dress from J.C. Penny, our $40 each gold wedding bands and the keg of beer for the reception afterwards. This summer will be our 22nd anniversary, so I'm think overall that was a pretty good investment.

So where is that little diamond ring now? I think it's in my dresser drawer. I haven't worn it in years. And my gold wedding band, I eventually exchanged for a $10 silver one I bought at the Ozark Empire Fair many years ago.

This week they unearthed an apparently huge and rare pink diamond in Australia. They think it will be worth $1.07 million. In 2010 a big pink diamond sold for $46 million. Now, for someone to pay $46 million for a jewel, no matter how pretty, a whole lot of people have to buy into the myth of its worth.

Luckily for Bryon, he knows not to waste money on expensive jewelry for me. Now, give me some cool computer or electronics and it's a whole different ballgame.

I am fairly sure an iPad could be my new best friend.